Bangladesh has said that suspected measles has killed at least 98 children over the past three weeks, according to official data released on Sunday, as authorities step up vaccination efforts in the worst-affected areas, news agency AFP reported.
Last week, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman directed two senior ministers to travel across the country to assess the scale of the crisis and help coordinate a response.
Data from the health ministry showed that suspected measles cases among children aged between six months and five years have risen sharply to 6,476.
“Compared with past years, the number of affected children is higher, and the death toll is higher too,” Halimur Rashid, director at the Communicable Disease Control, told AFP, referring to the number of suspected cases.
According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, the highest number of suspected cases on record was in 2005 at 25,934, though the figures had declined significantly until this year.
Rashid attributed the possible outbreak to “multifactorial causes, including a shortage of vaccines”.
The number of confirmed measles cases in this age group stands at 826, with 16 deaths reported. Experts said that in many instances, testing is either not carried out or patients die before tests can be conducted.
WHO flags measles as highly contagious; delayed vaccination drive worsens Bangladesh outbreak
Measles is one of the world’s most contagious diseases, according to the WHO, and spreads through coughing or sneezing.
While it can affect people of any age, it is most common among children and can lead to serious complications, including brain swelling and severe respiratory problems.
Bangladesh has made significant progress in vaccination against infectious diseases, but a measles immunisation drive scheduled for June 2024 was delayed due to a deadly uprising that year, which led to the ousting of the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina.
Officials said most Bangladeshi children are vaccinated at nine months, although many of those infected in the current outbreak were as young as six months.
Mahmudur Rahman, chief of the National Verification Committee of Measles and Rubella, said, “We committed to reducing the number to zero by December 2025 but failed to achieve the target due to poor vaccination programmes”.
Authorities in Dhaka have identified 30 of the worst-affected areas and have launched a vaccination drive.
Health Minister Sardar Shakhawat Hossain Bakul said the campaign would first cover the “worst affected areas” before being expanded to other regions.
Tajul Islam A Bari, a former official at the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) and a public health expert, told AFP that although funds had been allocated for vaccine procurement, authorities had failed to purchase them.
“Now we see the result — the situation is scary,” Bari added.
According to the WHO’s latest estimates, measles causes around 95,000 deaths globally each year, mostly among unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children under the age of five.
There is no specific treatment for measles once it is contracted.
(With AFP inputs)